Wedding Invitation to Colleagues

When planning a wedding, brides are faced with the often dreaded choice of who to invite to their special day. While it might be a no-brainer to invite immediate family and your closest friends, many modern brides wonder if they should extend a wedding invitation to colleagues that might be offended if left out of the fun. Determining who should be invited and what to say can be decided with the following tips and information for your special day.

Who Should Be Invited

When planning your guest list, you want to consider the fact that you can only afford to accommodate a certain number of guests. In terms of extending a wedding invitation to colleagues, there are a few options for deciphering who should be invited and who should not.

Boss/Supervisor. Even if you do not have a close relationship with your superior, you should invite them to your wedding out of courtesy. It shows that you value them as an individual. In many cases, your superior will politely decline if they do not feel their presence is necessary. This is a situation where the thought really does count.

Assistant/Secretary. If you have an assistant or secretary whom you work closely with every day, then they should be invited. This person is likely your go-to and has made your life better in any number of ways. Including them shows that you value their service to you inside and outside of the workplace.

Social Friends. There is a distinct difference between those coworkers whom you are polite with at work and those who you spend time outside of work doing things with. In-office politeness is part of the job but it does not mean you have to add them to your guest list. Stick with extending a wedding invitation to colleagues who you actively spend time with outside of work.

Close Work Friends. Every person has those individuals who they are close with at work and have established a friendship with. Although your busy lives may keep you from spending time together outside of work, these individuals should not be excluded. Take time to account for anyone who you have enough of a relationship with that you depend on each other and act overly friendly with in the workplace.

Unit/Department Members. If your work involves working within a unit or department with only 10 or so other individuals, then you should consider inviting all of them. These people are your day to day running buddies. Inviting only a few will make the others feel alienated.

Who to Invite to a Family Wedding

If you are designing the invitations for the wedding of your sibling or child, then the guest list in terms of work is significantly smaller. For most people, their work life is an extension of their personal life, but not to the extent of their children or immediate family members. In this situation, you can choose to only invite those selected few individuals who have been close with your family for some time. The definition of “close” is that the person has shared special moments such as baptisms, birthday parties, and holiday gatherings.

Tips

A few other considerations when deciding who to invite from your workplace are:

Do not invite one superior and not the other. It shows favoritism and may not play well in your favor at work. You don’t want to offend anyone.

Keep in mind that these individuals have significant others that they likely want to bring with them. Be sure to account for potential plus ones in your guest count total.

Choosing to exclude children is your choice.

You do not need to allow single people to bring a date.

If your office is particularly small, as in under 20 people, then it is customary to not exclude anyone. In most smaller workplaces, a small group of people is a tightknit group of people.

Don’t invite everyone you work with just to have ample guests and gifts. Be realistic in choosing those people you actually have a relationship with.

Wedding Invitation to Colleagues

Some brides may choose to include a special note with their wedding invitation to colleagues as they are likely delivered in person or through inter-office mail instead of through the regular postal system. A short, eloquently phrased note is all it takes to get the job done.

Here are few examples of what could be said:

For an Assistant:

As an important part of my everyday life, please accept this invitation to my upcoming wedding at [insert location] on [insert date], at [insert time]. I look forward to sharing this special day with you and your partner.

For a Superior:

Please find enclosed an invitation to my upcoming nuptials to be held on [date] at [location]. I would be delighted if you would be in attendance on this special day.

For Coworker Friends:

Dear Colleague, please accept the enclosed invitation to my upcoming wedding. As friends both in and outside of work, I cannot imagine the day without you.